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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, delivered the following statement at today’s hearing entitled, “Unleashing America’s Economic Potential,” that focused on the effects of the Republican tax law and critical federal oversight. In his remarks, Senator Heinrich emphasized the damage the tax legislation and the Trump administration’s reversal of key consumer, worker, environmental protections will cause American families.
Women in the U.S. still experience a major gender wage gap, 55 years after the Equal Pay Act was passed, Business Insider reports. On average, American women earn 80 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn, according to a report by the Senate Joint Economic Committee Democratic Staff. Their annual earnings are roughly $10,500 less than men. Women also make less than men regardless the educational difference between the two, per the report. “A woman with a graduate degree earns $5,000 less than a man with a bachelor’s degree,” the report says.
The Trump administration and Congressional Republicans have done nothing to uphold their promise to meet the needs of struggling American families across this country. Instead, they have chosen to repeatedly threaten their economic security—Republicans have tried dismantling our health care system, stripped away key consumer protections that keep working Americans safe, and passed tax legislation that disproportionately benefits large corporations and wealthy stakeholders who are not the most in need.
The report, “Real Action is Needed to Give American Workers the Raise They Deserve,” highlights that the real hourly wage for the median worker has only grown less than 0.2 percentage point per year on average since 1979. The Republican tax law does little to solve this problem, with 99.2 percent of the benefits going to the top 5 percent of households once it is fully implemented. Instead of leading to broadly shared wage gains, the tax bill is likely to exacerbate the trends we are already seeing.
Joint Economic Committee Democrats released a report today that outlines the need to take action and raise wages for American workers. Most American workers have not benefited from the economic growth of the last several decades—wages for the average worker have barely grown for nearly 40 years, while wages for the highest earners have grown substantially. The GOP tax law fails to address these issues, according to the new report, despite claims from Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration.
Joint Economic Committee Democrats today announced the launch of their first interactive map which will allow users to understand critical data and policy issues through visual formats on JEC’s website. This first interactive data set details how many years of a typical American family’s bills could be supported by the $193,000 one member of the top 0.1 percent will receive from the Republican tax law. It shows how many years it could support their household income, health care premiums, child care costs, and electric bills by state.
The modest wage growth in February shows that Republicans are failing to deliver on the promise to American families that they touted in their tax bill. Working families are still waiting for the wage growth they deserve – and were promised. The average worker’s wages have grown less than 5 percent over the last 35 years, after adjusting for inflation. We have to take real steps to make sure families see economic gains—and the Republican tax scam simply doesn’t cut it.